Transit Agencies Partnering with TACT
According to the American Public Transportation Association, in 2019 alone, people across the United States took nearly 10 billion trips on public transportation. That is nearly 10 billion opportunities to prevent child sex trafficking. Through PACT independent research as well as insights from our Survivors Council, we know for a fact that many victims of sexual trafficking have a touchpoint in public transit as part of their journey. Public transit staff and riders are therefore in a unique position to be alert, identify, and safely report potential instances of child sex trafficking.
The public transit agency's leadership is crucial to the success of the TACT campaign. PACT is extremely grateful for their commitment and for allowing our teams of experts to access their riderships to provide valuable insights into this heinous crime against childhood, in addition to rolling out the campaign assets within their advertising spaces in and around public transit locations.
The TACT campaign was initially launched in January, during Human Trafficking Awareness Month, with two transit partners: Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) in the Albany region of New York, and Rio Metro Regional Transit District in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe region of New Mexico.
Using learnings from this first phase, the campaign expands with two transit partners: Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro) in Austin, Texas and Alexandria Transit Company (DASH) in Alexandria, Virginia.
Phase #1 of the campaign
The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) was created in 1970 by the New York State Legislature, as a public benefit corporation, to provide regional transportation services by rail, bus, water and air. Today’s CDTA is the premier mobility provider in the Capital Region, providing regular route bus service, shuttle systems and paratransit services. CDTA subsidiaries own and operate the Rensselaer Rail and Saratoga Springs Train Stations. CDTA also operates the Northway (NX) Xpress Commuter Service between Saratoga County and downtown Albany. For more information, visit www.cdta.org
The Rio Metro Regional Transit District is the primary regional transit provider for Bernalillo, Sandoval, and Valencia counties, offering transit service between municipalities and across county lines. Rio Metro manages the New Mexico Rail Runner Express commuter rail and operates and/or funds select bus routes in the three-county area. Rio Metro's services also provide links to other statewide destinations and transportation markets including Santa Fe, Taos, and Socorro. The agency's top priority is providing service that enables customers to access regional destinations, a critical transportation need since tens of thousands of trips occur each day between different towns, cities, Tribal areas, and counties in the service area. For more information, visit www.riometro.org
Phase #2 of the campaign
The Alexandria Transit Company, a public bus transit agency in Alexandria, Virginia that operates DASH bus service and the King Street Trolley, was founded in 1984. With 40 years of experience driving Alexandria safely home, DASH strives to build a more sustainable, innovative, and accessible future for public bus transit in Northern Virginia. Learn more about DASH and transit in Alexandria at dashbus.com.
CapMetro is Austin's regional public transportation provider. They have been around since 1985 and work every day to give residents, commuters and visitors the best possible transit options available to match their busy everyday lives. Created in accordance with Chapter 451 of the Texas Transportation Code, CapMetro was established by a voter referendum on Jan. 19, 1985 and now has more than 31 million boardings each year. For more information, visit capmetro.org.